#those are just a couple of examples of how unrealistic this show is

[lauraisakilljoy]

obx spoilers ahead!!

I'm so conflicted about the season 4 ending because on one hand I get it. life is unfair, it's unrealistic to give all of your characters happy endings, especially if said characters are constantly putting themselves in danger. it makes sense that not everyone survives four seasons of near-death experiences like being held hostage, getting shot at, almost drowning etc. on the other hand I can't help but be bitter that the person who had been abused/mistreated their entire life and who was clearly suffering was the one who had to die. at the hands of his biological father, may I add. I’ve seen some people say JJ was annoying this season and I get where they’re coming from, but all of his impulsive decisions and everything that happened at/after the town meeting just made me sad. he was struggling so much that he didn’t care what happened to him or if he lived or died. all he wanted was a future where he could live with his friends in their own little paradise without a care in the world. with the money from the crown and shoupe’s promise, it seemed like he was so close to happiness and inner peace, but they didn’t let him have that. so yeah, I get why they did this, but that doesn’t make it less upsetting.

[mysteriousdragon2]

Howdy everyone. To those who are reading this, I’ll be venting once again. However, this might be a bit more personal. You’re more than free to disregard this post, but to those who read it, thank you for your time.

So…life’s been a complete disaster. My household treats me poorly daily, and I unfortunately cannot escape this situation until I get money to move out.

My parents have hurt me in ways that I cannot explain fully. But I’ll say this for certain: mental abuse. Ever since I was a child, it’s been an ongoing issue. I’m told I deserve to get bullied, told that I’ll never amount to anything, told that I’m a freak who doesn’t deserve anything. No gifts, no friends, no happiness. And everytime I try to be happy for a split second, it gets demolished by my parents with their negative comments about me.

Aches me daily. The more I keep living, the more I sink in those words, and feel useless. I can’t even create art without having someone from my household telling me it’s a waste of time to work on. And art is something I’ve been doing practically all my life.

I despise the fact that I’m being threatened to get kicked out of home if I fail to obey my parents’ unrealistic expectations. When I already do that, it’s bringing me into a state of misery.

Heck, I feel like a terrible friend to those who are currently my friend. I just keep spewing my moronic feelings, and have no input about it. Sometimes I think it’s best that I remain silent about venting to my friends. I’m only making this post just to notify others about how I’ve been and my feelings over the past couple years.

Sometimes, I have mood swings and it sets me into unwanted places. Although random, they are manageable. Usually doing something I enjoy solves this. But it’s really irritating to have my parents tell me that art doesn’t do anything to a person. Boy are they wrong. Art has made me very creative and patient, and that is wonderful. My art has gotten better thanks to the many art trades I’ve done with people.

Yet, I feel out of it. With just about anything I do, my stress level keeps getting worse to certain things. I’m claustrophobic, so being around a ton of people or closed spaces and or objects get my mind racing. I hate that I’ve met people joking about claustrophobia, it’s not okay. When people treat a phobia as a joke, please don’t do that. It grinds my gears.

Anyhow, sometimes I feel like I’m inferior sad a person and a friend. And often I choose to avoid people for the sake of their health, plus others are busy, so I get it.

What upsets me, is getting abandoned. By my close friends especially. Or anybody that’s genuinely kind to me. Countless times have I keep ghosted without a word by many people, and it’s never a pleasant feeling. You feel shackled and shut down. The fact this happens often really shows how terrible I am. But to those who have been my friend for a while, thank you.

The only thing keeping me intact at the moment, is Hol Horse. He’s been nothing but an example I follow, to always be a number 2. And to never strive for perfection, or being a perfectionist. He has his own way of life, and so do I want to aim for that someday. He means so much to me, more than I can express.

Sorry for the venting. Just wanted to express how I’ve been feeling and what’s going on. Thanks to those who read it.

Have a good one, everyone.

[yuttikkele]

ok so I saw that anon giving very persuasive reasons to be a zukaang shipper, and I like was writing a bunch of tags on the reblog so I just decided to make my own post 😭😭 it was way too many tags. I have a lot to say about zukaang guys.

Everything’s under the cut, but this gets very chatty very ramble-y fair warning.

anyways the part I was mostly talking about was how zukaang has a lot of what mainline ships have to offer. but like, more. and like no offense to the ships mentioned, I think they’re cool banger ships! I'm just biased towards zukaang. ofc I'm gonna think it has everything those ships have to offer and more.

though I do like these ships, there might be a little negativity towards them in this post, but I assure you, I do not mean it in any mean-spirited way.

zkka for example. I liked it a lot at first, but then I got into zukaang, and, it's just no comparison. zkka is still amazing tho it's a really silly and heartwarming ship, and sokka deserves a popular gay ship as a treat. I like them 💙❤️

but text wise?? zkka went on a two part prisonbreaking journey. zukaang spent the whole show revolving around each other with multiple key episodes exploring their dynamic. zkka can't compete with that.

and sorry to bring ztara and ktng into this as well but I gotta.

Listen, ktng is great. I think they’re really cute! Though there’s tons of discourse about which ship should’ve been canon, I think the creators made the right choice making this one canon (it was set up from the beginning, and I do think it’s the more popular ship. I think they would’ve gotten MORE backlash had they not made it canon). BUT, they’re literally middle schoolers. Of course they DO end up together, but the chances of that actually happening are off the walls! They only stayed together because of bryke, fan popularity, and what the show ended on (it would be really awkward if it ended with them getting together, and then bryke saying they broke up later. I get that. I don’t think they made a bad decision there). It’s just a liiiiiiiittle unrealistic (and I don’t wanna hear nothin bout “this is a fantasy world everything’s unrealistic.” You know what I mean go smart off somewhere else). Zuko and Aang, on the other hand, are bound by fate. They’re best friends, and they stay best friends for like, ever. Platonic soulmates, ying yang, does that not ring a bell? They’re not separating, it’s in the code. Though Katara and Aang don’t break up, I still think, realistically, it’s possible that they’d last a couple years then grow apart. Meanwhile, Aang and Zuko get closer and closer and then boom: just as much gay tension as roku and sozin. But not doomed this time.

ztara I can’t see happening based on the text. they have a lot of sweet moments from them talking about their respective moms' death (kinda sorta death) to like zuko accompanying her for "revenge" (not really revenge) to katara fighting azula with zuko. and their dynamics are cute like rivals to lovers and stuff. but, I just can’t see it. Plus, zukaang has that.

zuko’s mom was taken away from him, and aang’s father figure was threatened to be taken away from him. but it doesn’t stop there. no, shortly after these events, zuko was banished from his nation while aang fled from his. (MIRRORING CHECK DO I GET A MIRRORING CHECK???) zuko might’ve gone with katara to tie up loose ends of her past, but zuko went with aang to learn from the past for the future. and not to mention, on that journey, zuko and aang met mirroring red and blue dragons that formed a heart around them then proceeded to shroud them in rainbow flames while they learned firebending from the first firebenders not unlike oma and shu who were lovers from opposing sides of a war. (DO I HEAR SYMBOLISM AND STORY COMPARISON???) and zuko? he said “it’s my destiny for me to help the avatar.” and he DID. Yeah fighting azula was a culminating moment of his character arc and was imperative to taking down the imperial fire nation, but do you think zuko would just go attack his sister if she wasn’t a threat to Aang and peace? No, he would not. And you may be saying “uh yeah you said ‘and peace,’ zuko’s doing this because he believes it’s the right thing, and to take down his corrupt family, and for peace, not Aang.” BUT DO YOU SEE IT. AANG AND PEACE ARE LIKE SYNONYMS TO ZUKO. THEY COINCIDE. THEY’RE THE SAME THING. And in that Azula fight Zuko was given a MIRRORING scar with Aang. Aang’s back scar and his chest scar. (DO I HEAR DEVOTION???)

also headcanon-wise, I just really think Zuko is gay, so the ztara thing also kinda falls apart at that for me. Zuko just doesn’t?? Treat women very well??? Sorry, it IS kinda true tho. For so much of his life being spent with his main friends being only girls, he does not treat the women he dates very well. He actually treats Katara the best out of the girls he interacted with in my opinion even though he totally crushed her trust first try. (Some ships are about to get stray shots here while I explain this so sorry 🙏🙏)

Alright now here’s Zuko just not being the best with girls in general with romantic and platonic relationships. Not saying he hasn’t had his good moments, but, if I knew him irl I’d be trashing him for how he treats girls. Him and Mai always had continual problems on both ends. Zuko never really seemed interested in her genuinely, but on top of me just not really feeling the chemistry, Zuko was unhealthily distrusting and jealous of her like an object, he broke up with her through a note, and she risked her life for him and he didn’t even think about busting her out of jail. he really didn’t think about Mai much at all when he was with team avatar, and when he did, it was usually with weariness. he never really seemed upset that he was away from her. Now there was the “that’s rough buddy” conversation, but that’s when Zuko said “oh yeah leaving the Fire Nation was EASY” to which Sokka brought up leaving behind loved ones and Zuko went “Oh yeah, I had a girlfriend. Bummer I had to leave her to go FOLLOW THE AVATAR. AGAIN.” I was never convinced either of them actually liked each other romantically. The best thing I can say about their relationship is that Mai didn’t want Zuko to die, and the hardest part about Zuko’s easy decision to leave the fire nation was leaving Mai. For Katara, obviously, he severed things with her pretty early on, but was able to regain her trust so kudos to him. I guess he and Suki’s minimal interactions were positive I don’t really remember them sorry. Zuko DIABOLICALLY denied Toph her field trip. And Jin from Ba Sing Sei. j1nko is actually the Zuko het ship I like the most and that’s just cause I think they’re cute, and also this is like one of the times Zuko does something romantic that the girl actually likes. And he just never saw her again. Like I understand he was in a bit of a complex situation, but he could’ve gone to visit her or give condolences once everything settled down?? imagine you go on a date with this guy and the next day he’s ghosted you so hard he’s not even in the same city anymore? Jin was probably so heartbroken and then she sees HE’S THE FIRE LORD?? Nah I��d be so mad. Zuko has issues with girls. Men tho? I don’t see this problem arising. He just really reads as a gay dude to me.

Switching topics abruptly here, angsty zukaang has its place, but me personally, zukaang is not one of my angsty ships 😭😭 they worked so hard to be together y’all let them have it. There’s multiple solutions to the kid problem in my opinion, some more ideal than others but yknow. they could find out they loved each other after they already had kids and got a divorce? They could get surrogate mothers? They could say “screw you” to having to have bio kids and just adopt (and probably not announce it publicly cause how would the people know? Just keep them believing.). My personal favorite, they could avatar magic it and bring in some storks ectobiology and poof! magic bio baby they’re both blood related to. Hey, crazier things have happened. And zukkang has made a world where they can both be together and it’s beautiful and lovely and sweet ❤️🧡

and like, I don’t think it’s an all-out solution to the ship war. I think zutaraang is the all-out solution to the ship war. BUT, zukaang is a solution. It’s that one Thomas Sanders Prince vine where he goes “you’ll never have her! because I want you…”

uhhh anyways thank for comin to my tedtalk ramble about zukaang. Enjoy the rest of your day, and God loves you :DD

[lara635kookie]

I didn't even watch "WISH" yet because in my country it will only be available at january, but people are saying it's a bad cliche so I probably won't watch at the cinema.

The thing is, even though I am a hopeless romantic, not everything has to have romance. There are princess who are perfectly fine without a prince, like Mirabel, Elsa, Merida, Moana and Raya(I do kinda like the idea of Raya with a girl, just not Namaari). But we were so robbed of seeing Asha and the star boy(he is literally a staR so I don't doubt Disney would call him StaN or something like that, so his name is Stan from now on, I am gonna call him like that, is easier than star boy). Asha and Stan had the potential to be the next Tianaveen and Rapunzel&Eugene (I don't know their ship name). The concept arts are the cutest thing I have ever seen. Also "At All Costs" (bop) would have been a love song between the two!!! Them singing it man. The pain I will feel when I don't see them passionately sing it, very "I see the light" coded, in the actual movie. Somehow, now is not feminist for a strong female character to have a male partner by her side. Like...This doesn't make sense! You can be a strong female character and have a man at the same time! Have y'all forgotten Mulan and Shang? Anna and Kristoff? Ariel and Eric? Jasmine and Aladdin? (There are more examples and I could go on all day, but you got what I meant already) I hate Disney for throwing good ideas at the trash and playing safe just for money(like Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk said "it's a metaphor for capitalism"). And as the guy looked blonde with blue/green eyes in the arts I have seen, and Asha is a black latina, they lost the opportunity of having a biracial couple ACTUALLY DONE RIGHT (Pocahontas and John Smith don't count, he is a collonizer with the most common name in the world, she deserves so much better). Like, if the thing is show how inclusive you are by having a black latina female protagonist for little girls to see and feel represented in a good way, you could have increased that feeling by making someone fall in love for her. Little girls would feel like they are beautiful and desired/desireable in a positive way and that they worthy of being loved and love and be with whoever they want to be with, even someone who has a different skin color.

I am also mad because we could have seen Disney's first evil villain COUPLE with King Magnifico and his wife, the queen(still don't know her name, sorry). Can't you guys imagine the HITS, THE FIRST PLACE OF BILLBOARD HOT 100 WORTHY songs, they would proportionate us? Even if only one song, it would be enough for me. But someone thought having a female villain would be anti-feminist and they discarded an original and authentic idea, which is what Disney built its empire on the first place. Come on Disney minorities don't want to be portrayed as those unrealistic superior beings, they want to be portrayed as real human beings with emotions, struggles, qualities and flaws. Having an iconic female villain like you guys always had(like Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, Ursula, Mother Gothel, Lady Tremaine, etc) and set her up with an iconic male villain(like Gaston, Doctor Facilier, Shan Yu, Jafar, Hans, etc) it would have been top notch, god tier. King Magnifico and the queen could have been like the Gomez and Morticia of evil. You could address so many topics by it. Like the kingdom being ruled by evil would have been a great social critic of some politicians out there, for example. And we could have had an iconic final boss battle between Asha and Stan VS Magnifico and the queen.

Anyway, what I mean by this is that if someone has fanarts or just ANY CONTENT, of Asha and Stan, tag me, reblog this or comment, I don't care, just warn me, because they are my new obsession. I will also write a fanfic about this movie with these ideas, but only after I have watched the movie so until them, please feed my hyperfixation in Stasha (Star boy/Stan×Asha), I'm begging y'all

[concreteburialplot]

pretty sure you’re my fellow chase atlantic girlie that i’ve seen posted on my feed but if something chase atlantic x bad omens ever happened i. would. lose. my. mind. like i’m fully aware that noah would have fun posting things just because he likes to create chaos but someone on the bo tiktok account reposted cas’s video and it doesn’t mean anything but like,,, chase atlantic and bad omens are my bread and butter. and i mean they’re aware of each other just saying 🤠

and i’m sure if there ever was a collab someone somewhere would have smth negative to say but they could stfu because those are my angels. LIKE I’M SORRY can you imagine a chase atlantic feature on a song like bad decisions????

i need it. (at the same time i’m not ready for it)

YES! I AM HER! i am your fellow chase / omens girlie lmao

(just seeing their logos side by side like that makes me feel dizzy & makes my heart explode)

i actually hadn’t heard anything about the repost so thank you for bringing it to my attention! i just about lost my mind 🥲 my fav boys interacting ? 😭 my heart 😩 they are also my babies so get it 100% 🥺

(you didn’t ask for this but i’m offering it anyway 🥲)

so, couple things that come into play here that i think are interesting

warning: beyond this point will contain lengthy unnecessary, unasked for, unwarranted & disorganized reaching, theories, wishful delusional thinking & dissection. i am a swiftie at heart so it’s a reflex to look too much into cryptic behavior lol

+ rambling bc i’m a gemini who loves chase atlantic & rarely gets to talk about them to anyone so 🥲💔

i’m also aware that omens x chase fans are very niche & nobody actually cares what i have to say about this topic but whatever 🥲💔 i just need to get this out 🥲

1 - i have known for a while that at least noah knows about / is a fan of chase atlantic. i believe he liked a tweet about them a while ago, when chase was doing a livestream i think? & he’s posted about them before, example here:

whether or not chase knows about bad omens i’m not sure but they probably do now at least

2 - Omens & Chase are under the same management company! They’re both under MDDN, so they’re at least in the same circles

3 - as much as i’d KILLLLL to hear chase feature on bad decisions i unfortunately don’t think noah would be down for it (i think he’s stated before he’s not open to features on bad omens’ discography ?? but i could be mistaken) - so the more likely scenario in the realm of (unrealistic) features would be noah featuring on a chase song

4 - the Bad Omens official tiktok account has only reposted 6 videos total, besides cas’ & the other 5 were specifically about the band - with how they handle their social media i find it interesting that they’d do that

also

obviously Kras is in CA so them reposting it isn’t out of the ordinary BUT both band accounts reposted the same day (even tho the video itself was posted 6 days ago, they both reposted the next day) - again just interesting

5 - the audio on the tiktok was mamacita so that begs the question that if there WERE to be a collab … would it be noah featuring on mamacita …………. bc the thought of that …. makes my head spin 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 (we also been knew that noah’s music taste is vast, so him being interested in / open to featuring on a different genre track, especially of a band he likes, isn’t THAT crazy to imagine)

6 - however the caption cas’ tiktok was something like “christian said that if you use this filter he’ll show you his verse on mamacita” so that could mean a couple things IF a collab is being teased

a - it’s not actually kras’ verse it’s noah’s

b - kras’ verse could be first & noah’s 2nd (😵‍💫)

c - they’re hinting at a feature on another song on chase’s upcoming album

d - there is no collab & i’m a clown for believing that there could be (it’s this one)

7 - we know chase is open to having features from different genres & are pretty lax about who they work with (& lax in general)

8 - i’m unsure how well the collab would be received - i think noah featuring on chase would go over significantly better than the other way around but still idk - chase’ fanbase seems a lot more chill than omens

REGARDLESS i fear for chase if they collab bc [a lot of] bad omens fans are mean, judgy & ruthless especially about artists outside of metal/metalcore. chase’s fandom is fairly chill (in my experience) & unfortunately i honestly think any interaction with bad omens would bring a lot of unnecessary drama & hate to them :///// and i can smell the “bad omens is selling out” accusations from here

9 - again i think the repost was really interesting & unusual for their normal social media activity/strategy & so the fact that it’s so out of the ordinary + subtle + sneaky ON TOP OF ALLL of those other factors ^ has got me extremely intrigued

10 - that all being said ……. unfortunately as you touched on, Noah is a troll at heart, so he could very well just be causing mischief - for what reason, nobody knows - also choosing that tiktok was so random ?? so ?? [especially since it was cas’ tiktok, not chase or even their members??]

i’m interested to see if there’s any other sneaky interactions between them moving forward - noah loves taylor swift so he may be taking a page or 2 from her book & starting to get more cryptic as their fanbase expands ?? lol

seeing kras on the same page of an omens official account really made me feel crazy. that is something i never ever thought i’d see, thought i was hallucinating lol (i love them so much 🥹)

i am slightly hopeful but also ready to be disappointed lol

am i a fool for underestimating noah sebastian’s troll behavior? probably

has he trolled me before? yes

will i have too much faith in him to not troll me again after this? yeah :/

regardless,

anyway sorry this is ridiculously long for no reason & nobody actually cares about my insane hypothesizing 🥲 if anyone got this far, you’re a trooper & i’m giving you a star

i was just really really really excited about this bc i love them both so much & nobody else cares & it made me really sad but it’s fine 🥲🥲💔💔

[writingquestionsanswered]

Anonymous asked: Is it too corny or unrealistic if i end my story with an explosion that injures one partner of a couple after they had a fight, and the other partner was on their way to make things right? the point would be it's tragic they never resolved their big fight. I'm worried it won't make sense or will be too unexpected. the story follows the developing relationship of a couple I want to show their ups and downs. i would attribute the explosion to a gas leak in the apartment or something along those lines but is it too...ridiculous?

(Ask edited for length.)

You can definitely do this, you just need to make it purposeful. One way you can do that is by being intentional with the themes you explore. For example, because of the ending, you might want to explore grief as a theme. There are lots of ways you can do that... if some of their ups and downs are breaking up and getting back together, you could explore grief over a relationship ending. Or, if they never break up, you could explore that through the break up of one of their friends or a family member. You could explore grief over the loss of a job or promotion, the loss of a pet, the death of a loved one or even someone like a neighbor or co-worker, a tragic event close to home. By exploring the different kinds of grief and the different ways grief is handled, the choice of ending has purpose because it ties into that theme. (And again, you don't have to choose grief specifically... there are many themes that would work with the ending you want to do.)

You should also find a way foreshadow this loss if you can--for example, let's say B is the one who has the tragic ending. So, maybe earlier in the story there's a scene where A is in a minor accident or loses their cell phone on a trip and is out of touch for a couple days, and B is worried sick about them. When they reunite, B talks about how horrifying it was to think they'd lost A, that they didn't know how they'd go on if that happened. And A could say something like, "You'd put one foot in front of the other and keep going, that's how you'd go on." This plants a subtle seed in the reader's mind that something could go wrong. They won't really expect it to, but it will be in their subconscious. And then, when it happens, it's not completely unexpected. That little seed is still in their mind--they knew this could happen. But the best part is, since it's actually A who lost B (and not B who lost A as the foreshadowing hinted at), it's unexpected in a good twist kind of way.

By doing these two things, not only can you prevent this tragedy from feeling unexpected, you can give it purpose that will tie it together with the rest of the story.

Happy writing!

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[biscuit-qu33n]

not to be a hater but after these last two episodes I feel finally able to definitively say that I don't think hazbin hotel is very good, which is a bummer because I was so excited for it

the pacing feels weird, some of the character and relationship development feels phoned in or inconsistent. one example is Charlie and Lucifer's resolution which feels really forced and unrealistic. Charlie's daddy issues are more illustrated by characters saying she has daddy issues than anything we actually saw on screen between them. some of the scenes that are musical don't need to be and would probably be better as just dialogue (the heaven court song was so wildly strange and musically incoherent).

It's not like we haven't seen good character driven writing from Medrano. Helluva Boss has been a wildly different experience and manages to develop characters and relationships much better - not always perfectly, but better. Blitzo and Stolas also have fraught relationships with their fathers, but those relationships feel better illustrated within just a couple scenes than Hazbin managed to do with that entire episode.

Also, none of the characters have felt anywhere near as endearing in Hazbin as the characters in Helluva.

My partner said something about that really got me wondering. She said some of it felt written by AI. And I kind of see what she means. Some of the dialogue feels like, sure it makes sense for the scene, but does it make sense for the character? Often times, no.

Given what I've seen in Helluva Boss, I think this discrepancy in quality probably comes from the side of the collaboration. I am curious about the production schedule and how rushed it was. Or maybe if it's an attempt to try and fit all the originally planned plot in one season given how many shows aren't getting a second season.

I feel like somewhere down the line we're going to hear about a lot of disappointment on the side of the original team with the experience of working with A24 and others. but who knows. maybe it's just a matter of preference in terms of storytelling. I don't want to yuck any yums and it's not like I hate watching Hazbin Hotel. It's just probably something I'd watch in the background and not pay much attention to.

I'm mostly wondering if anyone else is feeling weird about this show.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

@the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @thealmightyemprex @piterelizabethdevries @strawbebehmod @justanotherconfusedman

Thoughts that came in a conversation I had with a mutual about the strips The Outbursts of Everett True from the Turn of the Century:

I'm not as familiar with Everett True as I am with Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Mafalda, Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible, but of the couple strips I seen, I'm loving his character.

However though, I got a bit concerned with his marriage with Mrs True, unsure of how much is Kinky Comedy Violence, and how much is Just Get a Divorce Levels of Disfunctional.

Yes, I understand that historical context is always important and in that time period, nobody would believe that a wife could be abusive to the husband, and so the idea of a man being beaten by his wife was considered funny.

But, on an artistic level analisis, I saw other examples of violence used for comedy where it was more like both characters were in on a joke, and using designs and movement so unrealistic and over the top it feels more removed from real life.

In the case of Mrs True and Everett, when the mere idea is just "Haha, women beating their husbands", it relies only on thinking that people will find the idea of it funny, so the building of it has not the same energy of the jokes surrounding Everett beating rude man on the street while presenting a witty remark on how much they were jerks, but instead feels like a real couple where he clearly is sad and in pain after she uses the house instruments to hit him after an unfortunate comment.

Let me give you another example of cartooning from the pasf to comparison: the Censored Eleven.

In the animation comunity, they refer to 11 Warner Brothers cartoons from the 30s and 40s that haven't been show on television since 1968 (when the Turner group owned by Teddy Tunner started buying the catalog) due to the racism in them.

The problem with them is not just that they are racist: is that they rely so much on audiences in the period already believing in the racism, so the idea that "Há Ha Ha, black people are lazy, uninteligent, superstitious, ugly, poor, addicted to gambling and dance like savages to jazz music" is the ONLY joke they have.

There is no creative animation techniques, compeling characters and witty writing to compare it to other strong Warner Brothers, Fleischer, Universal, Metro Goodwyn Mayer and Disney cartoons that (while ocasionally containing short racist scenes) don't rely solely on pre existing racial bias of the time to make their comedy.

As a result the Censored Eleven are not just bad because they are offensive: they are bad because they are weak, lazy and boring compared to contemporaries, lacking artistic quality due to relying on the offense.

In that vein, I feel that Mrs True and Everett's marriage violence, not only because of its closenese to real abuse, feels as weaker joke because:

1. Apparently every other comic strip writer of the period was doing the Wife Beats Husband joke, so its not very unique and compeling;

2. The rest of the strip is already creative and funny with showing quick cartoony violence and witty remarks from Ernest against man in power who actually deserve it, so him being beaten by his wife at home in contrast isn’t really interesting in comparison;

Somewhere here lies my thesis that "Sometimes art holding prejudices and biggotry is not only bad becaude of those prejudices and biggotry, but is also bad in a writing, pacing in a artistic level and when you start to bring this up, it can slowly take its power away".

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/732402225324965888/i-do-love-it-when-im-watching-a-movie-made-for?source=share

This is what normalization actually is. Little kids watching the same show likely wouldn't notice this as unrealistic, because all the shows they watch show characters being conscientious about helmets as a normal and unremarkable thing that everyone does (on purpose, to set a good example for the audience), coupled with a ton of messaging in real life about how everyone should always wear their bike helmets. TV shows, along with the real life education, effectively normalize bike helmets for children.

You can see how this is not the same thing as fiction for adults depicting something everyone already knows is bad in real life, even when it's depicted positively.

--

Normalization is certainly a real thing, yes. The Financial Diet or one of those youtube channels on financial literacy has a whole rant on Sex & the City normalizing credit card debt for young women, and it was a fair point.

People just apply a perfectly reasonable concept to silly contexts, as always.

[bearofohu]

your tags on the lady layton anime poll tell me you didn't exactly enjoy watching it

Personally, i can only agree and i have my reasons for it, but I'm still curious as to why you dislike it?

I don't like it mainly because it's so... obviously made for little kids. In every part of it.

No culprit is actually bad, but rather 99% of them were doing a bad thing for a good reason, which is fine once in a while, but this is the case in literally every single episode, and it gets old quickly. They made a detective/mystery anime with no actual crimes depicted. I mean come on. On top of that, the episodes are so painfully formulaic. The mysteries themselves are interesting enough though, which is probably the only reason why i managed to suffer through it to the end. I also just generally dislike Layton becoming a father. I don't doubt he'd be good at it, but he just doesn't seem like the kind of person who would just adopt a whole ass child. I'm also generally not a fan of "popular character becomes a parent, so their child can continue their legacy". I just hate that trope in general. Children are not their parents and it's unrealistic to expect them to be.

And I'm also not a big fan of the main characters. I could probably write more if i seriously thought about it, but as a whole i can say that i just find them grating. Katrielle is supposedly an "english lady", but we rarely see her acting actually ladylike in the anime. Her interest in sweets is fine enough, but it's so overblown that it's just not believable anymore and instead turns into her only character trait, completely overshadowing her supposed interest in mysteries, which just seems like bad writing. And while the main plot, so to speak, of the whole show is her finding the professor, the only times that even comes up is in the episodes that are exclusively about that. Katrielle isn't really shown to be missing him at all, not even in private, which makes it seem more like she's searching for him out of obligation rather than because she actually wants to. The moments shown of Katrielle and Layton in the past are so few, it just seems like they wanted to do their own thing with the show, but had to slap the Layton brand name onto it for the brand recognition, and i wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth tbh.

Noah, or as the english subs called him, "Ernest" (for whatever reason), is probably my least favourite kind of character. I don't know, maybe it's his character design that makes me dislike him so much. I hate how he's such a huge scaredy cat and that being his one and only sole character trait. Seriously, what other character traits does he have? If you know any, please tell me, because i legit cannot think of any. Well, he does have this one other character trait of having a huge crush on Katrielle, but is unable or unwilling to actually ever act on it, which is a trope that I'm just so tired of. Like, either grow some balls and make a move instead of being passive aggressive to every other potential partner that approaches her, or give up on your crush and grow a personality! I don't care about how "realistic" this kind of thing is supposed to be, it makes for a terrible character. That coupled with his general demeanor just makes him boring as hell. If he was replaced by a lapdog that got carried around in a small purse, i doubt the anime would be much different. His only backstory we get is his two-episode backstory thing, but the whole thing hinges on an initial misunderstanding, or rather, it hinges on everyone else deliberately keeping Noah in the dark. He shows character traits in those episodes that could actually lead to him becoming interesting, but as soon as those are over, he's back to his normal, boring self, which is a huge shame.

Sherl the dog is the classic (and literal, in this case) example of "all bark, no bite". It's never explained why only Katrielle and Noah can understand him, and this fact doesn't matter either, because it's rarely, if ever, called out by other characters. He doesn't have the sense of smell like a typical dog, effectively making him useless. His role is the animal mascott of the agency and anime, the third character to make a trio, and to be the comic relief. That last one is a shame though, because he's not funny at all. Or maybe the whole "yelling at ridiculous character for being ridiculous" thing is just not my thing.

These are my main reasons. There are a few more things I don't like, but those are more nitpicks.

So I know why I don't the anime (and now so do you), but I'm curious as to why you don't like it. Same reasons as me? Completely different?

your reasons are really valid criticisms and i agree with most but mine are actually pretty different

my reasons are probably going to be more based on bias rather than the overall quality of the show bc to be completely honest with you i hate both mystery room & lady layton and think both attempts to “reboot” layton was lazy, uninspired and unnecessary

and if a lot of this makes me sound like an old ass man its bc i am when it comes to layton. my 7 year old ass was playing CV on its release week in the US. im an OG snob to the bone so honestly you should take my beef with LMDA with a grain of salt when it comes to presenting legit critique bc while i do hav legit critique, above all else i have “i just hate this shit”

hino ignored “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and for that i never intended to give either spin-off a chance and im not ashamed to admit that this point. i knew i wasnt going to like mystery room when it was announced, but it was so obviously a spin-off that it was very easy to ignore and safely assume it was just an AU type deal

but then shit got personal when i found out LMJ was going to be professor layton’s successor. back in the day when all that hoopla was occurring i always had to back up my complaints by emphasizing its not bc i don’t like the change, its bc of x and bc of y.

but the truth is there was nothing wrong with LMJ in regards to the game they were trying to make. LMJ and by extension LMDA is for kids, marketed towards kids. thats why the puzzles are piss easy. they’re not badly made, they’re for children. the plot isn’t sterile and corny and safe, its for kids.

if LMJ/LMDA were a spinoff i wouldnt have had such a problem with it. but it wasnt. it was supposed to be a successor to layton, but its not a successor, its a total replacement that fails its source material in every possible way

and thats my problem with it. professor layton didn’t need to be remade. it didn’t need to be remade for children. children could stomach the original perfectly fine. the unwound future trauma beat my 8 yr old ass and i came out just fine

there is nothing wrong with LMJ/LMDA if it stayed in its fucking lane. instead hino attempted to replace a franchise with it that was totally and utterly different in every aspect which totally alienated OG fans and completely failed to capture new ones

and i hate LMDA more strongly bc the relic stone arc is such a failure of a professor layton story. it steps all over hershel’s character and makes him such a prideful deadbeat who gladly sends himself and luke to their possible demise for NO fucking reason. if layton knew they were going to get captured by rufus aldebaran’s stupid cult then why the FUCK did he let luke come with him. jesus fucking christ. he would not let that boy walk to his death

..or maybe he would bc of what happened in azran legacy. fuck me. i swear to god everything thats wrong with LMDA i can trace back to azran legacys writing somehow

hershel aside it also shat on any of the impact that we would’ve gotten seeing luke’s growth. LMDA just throws a fucking eeeve stone at him and even then we learn almost fucking nothing about him or his wife or how they met. marina is the only character i found even a little bit interesting due to how fucking hardass it was that she indoctrinated herself into the cult that froze her man for 10 yrs JUST so she could one day save him. but ofc the fandom shat on her when LMDA was airing bc she wasnt luke’s husband (which she is btw. sorry some of u werent woke enough to see that)

hino obv knows by now that the reboot failed in nwos is any indication. and i don’t want to rip on hino bc at the end of the day after azran legacy blew fat stank ass in sales, he was just trying to bring bag back to professor layton. this just wasnt it and hopefully the hype around nwos has showed him the actual way forward for the franchise and if hes swagful enough he’ll just start giving LMJ the flora treatment

but yea this is such my brainshit of thoughts for why i personally hate LMJ/LMDA. hopefully it was even a little bit coherent and ty for giving me a chance to ramble and sharing your own thoughts 💖

[onepiece-writer]

Insecurity

Pairings: Usopp x gn! Reader

Genre: Angst to fluff

Synopsis: Usopp insecurity struck again, so you comforted him

The crescent moon was beautiful, perfect for a couple's night. But to your surprise, Usopp was not here, unlike usual. He was nowhere to be found, probably making his new weapon again. You sighed in disappointment, then tried to find him.

"Y/n-san! Not sleeping yet?" Brook said kindly, then seeing the worry on your face. "Y/n-san, are you looking for something?"

"Yeah, do you know where Usopp is?" You asked with the confusion written on your face. "I haven't seen him all day!"

"Is that so? Maybe he is working on a new invention, or so".

"Oh yeah, he said that he had a new idea in his mind! Thanks, Brook!"

"Yohoho! No problem, y/n-san!"

You then headed to his workshop, opening the door with caution. There were blueprints scattered everywhere, with it being the most unrealistic thing possible that no one would have imagined. But then, you saw Usopp in the corner. Sketching and sketching, like ignoring you there.

"Usopp—? Are you okay?" You sounded worried. "I haven't seen you all day!"

"Oh, y/n!" He said with excitement seeing you after a long day. "Sorry, I was too busy sketching".

"You haven't eaten, are you okay?"

"I eat, y/n! The great mighty Usopp just ate a bit later than others!"

Usopp then showed you his blueprints, telling the tales of how he got the idea, what it works for, and so on. But unlike others, you quickly understood how he really felt. He was just afraid to show it.

"Usopp, can I tell you something?" You grabbed his shoulders, pulling them towards you. "Are you okay? It's not your usual self right now".

"Oi, oi!" Usopp gasped as you pulled him towards the front of your body. "I'm fine, nothing happened!"

"Hey, are you just gonna brush off the fact that you literally did not eat lunch with me?"

"Well yes, but—"

"Usopp, you can tell me anything. Remember, I'm your partner. It's okay to let out those feelings, okay?"

Usopp's body was trembling as he didn't want you to worry about him. He didn't realize that you actually care for him, deeply as a partner. He didn't have experience with partners, so he did not expect this to happen between them.

"Y/n, have you ever felt like you're not needed?" He sighed, moved by your actions. "Like you know that I'm only a sharpshooter? I'm not that needed in a pirate ship, I say".

"You're insecure?" You saw the eyes that spark the deep secret of him, just letting it out to you. "You are needed Usopp, you are a must".

"But how? I'm only for targets faraway, nothing else!"

"Nothing else, you say? Look, your being shines in the hearts of every crewmate".

"By how, y/n?"

You sighed, then continued the conversation between you two.

"You know how you were able to lie?" You uttered. "The lies of your stories, spark the hearts of Luffy and Chopper, y'know?"

"But how about the others?" He denied. How could he realize that if the others were more important than him, he objected. "They have more important roles than me, right?"

"You know, Zoro tried lying once and it didn't work as he wasn't the type who likes to lie".

"Then what's the importance of that?"

"You didn't realize? You fooled the Tontattas of Dressrosa to follow you like a follower. What more proof could I provide you?"

Usopp then thought for a second. He was important after all, unlike what he thought this whole time. His lies, his charisma, his long nosed self was one of the examples of him actually being different from others.

"And you stole my heart, too" You added with Usopp suddenly turning away with bright pink cheeks . "The great boyfriend of all time".

"That was a smooth one there!" He complimented you with a smile blooming. "Thanks for that, y/n!"

You quickly take this chance to 'eat' him. You then shower the easily flustered long nose boy with kisses all over his face. His face was slowly and surely turning red.

"Don't forget to sleep", you joked. "I wouldn't be happy if you didn't".

"Of course, y/n!" Usopp smiles to the heart. "Oh yeah, my greatest ever partner!"

You closed the door, leaving behind a flustered boy who would not forget this moment in his life. Will never forget this day, ever.

........................

no way why brook is on 2 posts of fics in my acc💀💀💀

also almost losing ideas on this

[lemonhemlock]

That anon does have a point when saying that lots of Aemond x OC fics (especially where the OC is a daughter of Rhaenyra) use some of the same plot points for their made up character. For example they will have their OC, instead of Luke (sometimes he will not exist at all in the fics and she takes his place), be the one who takes Aemond's eye which is even more startling when, as an adult, he will hopelessly fall in love with OC, is ready to sacrifice everything, abandon his family and switch sides just to marry her something that will almost never happen in the opposite case. While yes, Aemond developing an obsession with the person who took his eye is very normal, falling in love is a totally different thing and seems forced and just…unrealistic? And it's very weird when you see team black stans complaining from time to time about the amount of Aemond fics on AO3 paired with a daughter of Rhaenyra's falling in love with him and betraying her side when 99% of the same fics are written by other team black fans and have Aemond doing the switching sides thing lmao.

Of course people are free to write whatever they want about fictional characters, but after a while these type of fics are quite tiring since they're following the same plot points and tropes, more or less: she takes his eye or defends her brother doing the same without even trying to understand Aemond's POV, is either a Strong or Daemon's bastard masquerading as a trueborn Velaryon, rides Vermithor or Cannibal and knows how to control them unlike Aemond, behaves and sounds like a modern day feminist or is a girlboss who, unlike all the other ladies, knows how to fight using a sword and so on while Aemond behaves like a dumb simp all the time and is constantly villainized by the narrative (as well as most of the commentators) for being a misogynist who hates seeing women in power because why is he not swearing allegiance to his half-sister in two seconds????!!! Not to mention that in most of those fics the greens are villainized to the point where they seem like cartoon characters, especially Alicent who is always characterized as the worst mother ever who doesn't love her children at all or as a religious extremist. I've had to quit reading some precisely because of reasons like these despite them being popular and amongst the fics that were very well written otherwise. Nowadays if I really want to read an Aemond/OC fic (or an Aegon one) I'd probably search and choose one in which the OC is a lady from some random house…at least with these ones you have a lesser chance of being disappointed down the road if you're a green fan.

oh definitely the aemond x oc fics really started to get very derivative after a couple of months and the template you provided is really spot-on. but those traitor!aemond fics (where luke is replaced by another black-aligned OC) were never really written by greens anyway, so it's funny that anon thought to complain about that in the askbox of a green account :)) i also noped out of quite a few fics when they started with the alicent-bashing, i just don't have the patience for that & it was rarely even nuanced criticism anyway, at least not in my travels

i don't really know what the state of the nation is nowadays, if lucemonds really discovered body horrror, but at the time i was complaining about it, their dead doves were, at most, ridiculous dungeon sex slave fics that would be on par, comedic-wise, with Unhinged by Vera Valentine or Stuffed by the Were-Turkey by Tate McKirk. and, like, good for you if you enjoy the silliness of it, bc it's never really that serious, but, equally, be aware that people are going to poke some lighthearted fun at you for it

the thing about lucemond is that, while there is definitely basis in the enemies-to-lovers trope or the idea of obsessing over your tormentor, at the end of the day they have to be honest with themselves and admit that they started shipping it after they watched hotd. it's an entirely show thing, no one shipped those two when only Fire & Blood existed. and, say what you will, but there is no shipping subtext in the show about this either, PLUS the visual discrepancy between the actors' ages makes it really not secksual at all. like, that is clearly a grown man and a barely pubescent teenager, there is no "story chemistry" to speak of :)) and i'm not even talking about the squeamish implications of that taboo topic, but there is 0 such <chemistry> or buildup in the text of FB and there is 0 in the media text of the two hotd episodes where both of them appear. not from the part of the actors and not from the part of the technical crew that filmed and edited it. i would love for someone to point out at least 1 such frame that indicated lust or longing or some kind of repressed romantic feeling. so it's only natural people are treating it as some kind of crackship.

anyway it's funny people are still in the grips of lucemond more than one year on. by all means do what you want, but, man, you gotta make some allowances for the goofiness of it all :))

[gillianthecat]

My School President episode 6

My heart just smiles everytime Gun and Tinn are together. Fourth is so good as Gun, he brings so many layers to the part. I feel like I'm seeing Gun growing up before my eyes.

I continue to appreciate how this show is playing with BL (and general Romance) tropes, both on silly visual level, with all the fantasies and this making of the BL version of a music video, and on a more serious structural level. I'm thinking of Tinn's various not-quite-confessions of his love, and Gun's reaction. The typical trope would be for Gun to be totally oblivious, but this show (and Gun) are too smart for that. He knows that Tinn likes him, but he's afraid, afraid both that he's wrong and that he's right. Being wrong would be heartbreaking and so he wants to stay in this suspended moment of not knowing the truth. And it's scary for him that he's probably right. His reason is the no dating rule, but I suspect that's just an excuse for why he's reluctant. Falling in love is scary! And so the show keeps that tension of not-quite dating going that is often achieved by one character being unrealistically oblivious, but does it in way that feels true to life.

And so I love that this show is just letting them be real and scared and yet still honest and open with each other. They both just feel so human, so much like teenagers growing up and figuring out what it means to love and be loved. Like My Only 12%, (and I Told Sunset About You) this now feel like a coming of age story as well as a BL, as Tinn and Gun are figuring out how to love and care for each other like adults. What's fascinating is that while those other shows did that by moving away from BL tropes, My School President is doing it by embracing them but then turning them inside out to examine them.

I have inchoate thoughts about how QL stories (and Romance in general) are often coming of age stories, as the characters discover their own self in the process of discovering each other. This is especially true of High School characters, but I think it holds for every setting. Old Fashioned Cupcake for example, even there the characters are growing into themselves in order to be able to love each other. But that's another post, a big sprawling one that I won't attempt now. And I do think even with that, My School President is more of a coming of age story than most.

And in terms of tropes, I adored the use of that clear umbrella, how it created a little world for the two of them, and particularly how they were trading off holding it, emphasizing that neither is the seme or uke, they aren't playing roles here of pursuer and pursued, they are just two boys who like each, trying to figure out what to do with all their feelings.

So far I'm less interested in either of the side couples (or side couple? I'm assuming Tiw and Por will be a thing but we've only had the barest hints that it's happening so far). I think because they're given more of the silly teenage shenanigans and that's fun but less compelling to me. I did like all the layers of BL tropes at work in the scene with Sound and Win's "kiss" through the medal.

Perhaps my problem with them is that the rap battle confused me—there Sound was being all mature and supportive of Win, but now he's back to being petty and combative. Was the rap battle only in that somewhat non-diegetic music video from last week? Is it just a mistake in the script or editing?

Also, it's not that important, but I was confused by the scene where they were asking each other the questions in Gun's bed, when just before they had been doing it on the phone. At first I thought it was Gun imaging they were next to each other, but they serious talk about grief and the hug made me think it was happening in real life. Was it just a continuity error? Did I miss a scene transition were Tinn was like, "I'm coming over to cuddle?" Or was it really just a fantasy?

Last thought: the economics of Thai BL being what they are, I appreciate the product placement for allowing these shows to be made. And My School President is doing the best they can with it to make it plot and character relevant. But I still find it annoying.

handing off the umbrella 🥰

[oldbutnotyetwise]

Great Love

     I will admit that I am not one for light conversation. I don’t really like to talk about the weather, and if you want to talk about sports or your favourite reality show then I am definitely the wrong person.  However if you want to talk about life, love, adventures or about amazing people that you know (not in a gossipy kind of way) then I would be very happy to sit down and chat.

     Sometimes when I am in one of those conversations with someone, I will look at them square in the eye and ask “How many truly happy couples do you know?”  When I ask that question I am asking about couples who are  really madly in love, not couples who tolerate each other, or couples who have settled for each other, or couples who are together for appearances, or couples just waiting until the kids leave the house so they can part ways.  And just because someone has been married a long time, it doesn’t mean that they are happy.  I mean the couples who are still deeply in love, who would pick each other again if given the chance to do it all over again. 

     You would think that people would be able to list of a large number of happy couples that they know, but almost always the person I ask can’t think of any, or maybe they can only think of one or two.  Isn’t that kind of sad?  Shouldn’t we struggle to list the unhappy couples and have a long list of happy couples?  Why is that, and has it always been that way or is this more of a recent phenomenon?  Has Hollywood given us all unrealistic expectations?

     I left my second marriage after a decade of unhappiness in a twenty year marriage.  Yes perhaps that makes me a quitter and maybe you will lose some respect for me in knowing that.  What I decided was that life was an incredible gift and I didn’t want to waste it being unhappy for whatever time that I had left.  Now I will qualify this with another sad fact, as unhappy as I was I know others who were more unhappy and chose to stay in their marriages.  Did I do the right thing, did they do the right thing?  I don’t know that there is an answer to that, maybe we both did our own right thing.  All I know is that I would not have found the happiness that I did had I not left.  As hard as it was I know in my heart that I did the right thing.

     Maybe in the past the majority of the marriages have been more about two people tolerating each other while trying to raise a family and maintain a home.  I wonder how many Mail Order Annies got off the train and met the man of their dreams?  Even now there are still arranged marriages in some cultures, how many of them end up in wedded bliss?  Or maybe the expectations in these examples are just lower.  

     When I think of my parents, and even my grandparents, the words “great love” don’t come to mind when I think of their relationships.  It’s not that they were unhappy, I truly feel it was more that they just lived in a state of tolerating each other.  I knew very early on that I wanted more, I guess I wanted the fairy tale.

     Marriage and relationships are hard, I say this as a voice of experience and readily admit my rather checkered past in this area leaves me highly unqualified to offer either criticism or advice.  None the less I will offer my ponderances on the subject for you to dismiss or perhaps ponder yourself.

     I thought I might share with you some of the couples who I know of, or have known who I think of as those enviable couples who are or were very deeply and madly in love.  Having said that, this is my impression from the outside, only they truly know how happy they are.

     I met John and Aida back in the late eighties.  What struck me about John was how much he loved Aida.  Here was a couple that got married when they were both teenagers, which let’s acknowledge is normally a recipe for disaster, but all those years later there was no doubt he adored her even when I met him in his fifties.  Whenever he spoke of Aida his voice would change, his face would light up with a smile and he had nothing but kind loving words for her.  Here it is thirty or thirty-five years later and I still can clearly recall their love story.  Sadly Cancer took John far too early and I remember sitting there after his funeral looking at Aida wondering how she could possibly go on after losing what appeared to me to be the love of her life.  In the movie Bridges of Madison County Robert Kincaid says to Francesca about their love, “This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime” Is that true?  Or maybe it might never come along in a life, or maybe lighting can strike twice and some lucky soul might have more than one great love in their life.

     I have some very dear friends that we visited and stayed with a while back.  Larry and Neil have been together for longer than I have known them which is over thirty-five years.  I attended their wedding when they were finally able to marry legally.  To me they have always been this incredible couple.  Recently I sat and watched Larry tend to Neil who is now in his mid eighties.  I was touched by the patient, gentle, tender loving way that he tended to Neil’s needs.  These are two men who survived some turbulent times when being Gay could get you seriously hurt or killed.  They both have stood by each other through some life threatening illnesses and injuries.  Knowing them, seeing them with each other and watching them love each other always warmed my heart.

     A dear friend of mine lost her mother twice.  First to dementia and then to death.  What touched my heart was the way my friend’s father attended the nursing home for several hours every day to visit and to feed his wife dinner.  Even though most days she didn’t recognize him, he never lost his love for her.

     I had a another coworker and friend who married his childhood sweetheart that he met in grade three or four.  Now truth be told I found them to be a bit of an odd couple, but what I noticed was that all their oddness seemed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.  My friend was stolen away by cancer, and it still breaks my heart to see his wife struggle in the aftermath, the foundation of her life now gone.  She is lost, a sailboat without it’s rudder lost at sea.

     Not everyone is lucky enough to have a “great love” in their life, I dare say most don’t.  A dear friend had a great love, but then lost her husband to a terminal illness.  I know the grief of losing someone that you love, I also know the grief of losing a “great love”, it is like losing your whole world.  Recently when we were speaking she said that at least she got to have one “great love” once in her life.  I find this both incredibly happy, and incredibly sad at the same time.

     I would like to share a quote with you now.  I’m sure in hearing it you will think it is a nice quote.  However unless you have lived or are living it I would respectfully suggest that you won’t really get the true meaning and depth of it.  It is by a Rabbi and author Steve Leder whose writings I find to be quite profound.

     “To love and care for someone who is whole is one thing.  To love and care for a person when he or she is broken, weak, and afraid is quite another.  That is the deepest kind of love; a love discovered only through vulnerability and pain.”

     I know the kind of love described in that quote, and that my friends makes me a very lucky man.  Like a phoenix who rises from the ashes I somehow managed to save my “great love”, my best love for last.  It is easy for me to understand why I love Robin like I do, what I don’t understand is why Robin loves me like she does.  When I met Robin I felt that we both were getting a good deal in being with each other.  Our love was easy, it was good, our future was full of great and endless possibilities.  Now our future is full of limitations, and the list of limitations just continues to grow, often daily.  Life is hard and I am a broken shell of who I once was, and to be honest I struggle to understand how this mess of a person that I have become is in any way loveable.  Yet each and very day I am shown the kind of love others can only dream of.  I don’t think Robin loves me, I know that she loves me.  I don’t understand it, and I can’t even begin to try to explain it, but I do know I have never been so well loved.  Loved more than I ever thought was possible.  Yes I am lucky in love even as the Grim Reaper is chasing me down the street and constantly gaining ground.

     If I could have a wish for you my dear reader, I would wish for you a “great love”.  Somehow I don’t think life has been fully lived without one, in some ways it is what makes us feel truly alive, says the dying man.

     Have you ever had a “great love”?  Maybe this is an easier question.  How many couples do you know who appear to have a “great love”?     

[sarnai4]

Wedding Plans

Thanks to YouTube, I was reminded of a show where the premise is the groom has to prepare a wedding without the bride knowing what the heck he's got in store for them. Chaos naturally ensues, but then it got me thinking about Dragons. I sorta would love to see this happen in their world. It would be amazing.

Astrid wouldn't even know how to respond. Half of the wedding would be really sweet like when Hiccup tried so hard to get her that betrothal gift. The other half is just dragon themed and completely lacking those little details she thought he'd include (cue how he missed that she was wearing the aforementioned betrothal necklace). They'll have her favorite foods, but there are a dozen Terrible Terrors who carry flower bouquets all over the place. At the end of the day, she knew what she was getting into with him. It's not the wedding she expected, but it's one very fitting for the dragon trainer.

I'm not even entertaining the idea of Ruffnut getting married. Sorry (not really). Love her, but I cannot see her in a serious relationship. She's a love 'em and leave 'em type. So, she doesn't have to worry about not getting the kind of wedding she'd like. It's not even happening.

Stoick would have done a nice job. I feel like he'd have found a really pretty outfit for Valka and got some musicians to play their song for them when they dance. (Too bad she's probably about to leave as soon as the reception is over)

Even though I don't see Tuffnut getting married, him planning a marriage for his imaginary S.O. would be hilarious. This is the most bonkers wedding ever with plenty of disgusting-sounding desserts, explosions, and boar wrestling. Everyone's tired and most likely horrified by the time they go home. His gift request list is also extremely unrealistic. No, Tuff, we cannot get you the sun no matter how shiny it is.

Fishlegs would plan a sweet wedding. Nothing too wild happens, but it's nice. There's a large banquet too. Really large. It's probably the most ridiculous part of the whole experience.

Snotlout would try to act like he's hating it, but he'd have an amazing time and plan out everything really well. He's turning into one of those TV wedding planners with a book to help him keep track of everything. Do NOT mess up anything. He's not even playing around with the twins until this is over. Someone better keep them far from him so that he doesn't have an emotional breakdown when they inevitably ruin something. He is absolutely stressing out about every detail and won't be satisfied until the actual wedding day. Bridezillas have nothing on Snotty.

Dagur fully embraces the role and loves it. He's planning a load of activities so that no one's bored, is bringing in all the best cooks, and has so many decorations that it takes about an hour to just find everything there is to look at. It's beautiful and Mala realizes she made the right call by giving him the reins with this. If he has too much fun, he might just start planning weddings for the other Berserkers and Defenders too. No point in letting that creative mind of his go to waste. (I do not forgive RTTE for only showing us the official ceremony. I wanted to see the wedding! I bet it was a really fun time, so boo to them for not showing us. We didn't even get to see the cute couple's dance)

If Gustav ever found someone willing to marry him, he would be a great example of why the show had drama. Don't trust him with a wedding...or anything for that matter. That's a good rule to live by.

(I'd also enjoy that show where the weddings compete. Gustav is dead last; Tuffnut gets points for creativity; Stoick and Fishlegs are in the middle with it not being overly remarkable but nice; Hiccup was almost put below them for all the wildlife, but it's still sweet enough for him to get a better ranking; and I actually have no idea who's winning between Dagur and Snotlout. Ties aren't allowed in that show, so...yeah, not sure. Figuratively speaking, they both win since their friends and loves are having a great time)

[cosmicjoke]

Okay, I’ve got to talk about this latest episode of “Vinland Saga”, because good lord, it was amazing.

I’ve said before that I felt the anime improves on the manga in a lot of small, but meaningful ways, and I felt this episode was a prime example of that.  I’ve noticed throughout this series that it’s done a lot to tone down the sillier, more comedic aspects of the manga which I always felt clashed in an unflattering way with the overall tone and seriousness of the story, and this episode did maybe the best job yet of cutting away that excess and ill-placed humor.  In the manga, after Thorfinn takes his beating in order to talk to Canute, we get this comedic sequence in which his face swells up to ridiculous proportions and everyone is sort of having a bit of a laugh at his expense, and I always felt it was incredibly jarring after the weighty grief of Arnhied’s death and all of the events that lead up to it.  And so I was overjoyed to see them cut that entire sequence from the anime, and replace it instead with the poignancy and emotional depth that the climax of those events deserved, especially Thorfinn asking Einar to come with him to create a land free of war and slavery, their vow to Arnheid to build a land she would have felt was more appealing than death.  In the manga, the comedic relief following this scene undercuts the moment terribly, but here they completely avoided that mistake, and that truly was a superior approach.

I also felt that Thorfinn’s interaction with Canute was better handled, and came across less absurd and unrealistic as it did in the manga.  It still seems a bit far-fetched to me that Canute would just give up all his plans to forcibly take farmland in order to fund his standing army in England, and then proceed to disband that army, but the way the anime handled it and presented it gave it an emotional impact and beauty that I didn’t feel from the manga, and so it lessened the issue I had with the idealism of it. 

I adore this anime specifically for the fact that it treats its subject matter so seriously and is incredible at conveying the poignancy and feeling of its story, and of Thorfinn’s journey in particular, seeing where he started, and where he’s ended up.  Seeing his growth as a character.  How could one not feel proud of him, and admire his strength and resolve?  I love that they aren’t diluting it with silly, misplaced comedy like the manga has had a tendency to do in later chapters, and I hope to continue to see this trend throughout the series.  I was dreading the moment with Throfinn’s face being swollen, because I remember how it took me out of the drama of the story in the manga.  So, once again, when they didn’t do it, and instead maintained the seriousness of feeling that this entire series has had, I was so, so happy.

Phenomenally done, truly.  I can’t praise this anime enough.  I know I’ve been ragging on it for making Thorfinn too tall, lol (which, incidentally, they did a better job this episode of showing his actual height), but truly that’s the most nitpicky of nitpicks.  Everything else is literally pitch perfect, and I think this episode encapsulated why.  It had me on the verge of tears a couple times.